Baking

Espresso Donuts with Irish Cream Glaze

December 7, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

If you dig really deep on the internet you will probably find the first blog I ever started. I’ll let you be the super sleuth but it was, in fact, a baking blog. I’m happy to have clients like Kerry Gold Irish Cream that let me have creative freedom to come up with all sorts of recipes like these Espresso Donuts with Irish Cream Glaze. These are so easy to throw together and bake in only 8 minutes!

Another secret that you probably don’t know about me is that before the blog or bartending or design school I really wanted to open up a bakery. Baking has always been like therapy to me. For 30 minutes, to an hour or the longest, most tedious, baking challenge (like fondant — still terrible at that) I seem to lose myself at the task at hand. For those minutes or hours, my mind is completely clear and I can just concentrate on a recipe and making something out of nothing. I love working with my hands, having the house be overpowered with warm delicious smells, tasting the batter, and indulging in a hopefully perfect finished product.

The other thing about me is that I live for coffee. It gets me through the days and sometimes even the nights. I also live for sweets. Fact: I was born with 32 sweet tooths. No joke. So now you know the way to my heart. And that finally brings me to how I came up with these Espresso Donuts. They’re decadently rich, sweet, caffeinated, and boozy. I don’t think that I have to mention that I also love booze, right? That’s already a given.

Espresso Donuts, makes 1 dozen

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. finely ground espresso or instant espresso powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Kerry Gold Irish Cream Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup Kerry Gold Irish Cream

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Coat your doughnut pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, espresso, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl combine egg, milk, and melted butter. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture, stir just until smooth and then stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into a ziplock bag and snip off one corner of the bag. Alternatively, you can use a pastry bag if you have one. Pipe batter into the doughnut pans, filling about half full. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until tops springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 minutes. Invert pan to let the doughnuts drop out and let them cool completely on the wire rack.

To make the glaze stir together the powdered sugar and Kerry Gold Irish Cream. If the glaze is too thick add more Irish Cream until you have the desired consistency. Spoon or pour the glaze on top of doughnuts, allowing the excess to drip off. Leave doughnuts, glazed sides up, on wire racks until glaze is set.

If you’re not a fan of rich and decadent then these double chocolate Espresso Donuts with Irish Cream Glaze just aren’t for you. And that’s a crying shame, so don’t disappoint me. I hope you can find the time to make yourself a treat this weekend. If you do leave me an update in the comments below. Hopefully one day I’ll open that bakery but I think I might make it a retirement plan for when I want to wake up at 3 am to bake. For now, I will continue to be going to bed at that hour. xo

Bake This: Bourbon Banana Bread

April 2, 2018 by Natalie Leave a Comment

I have been trying to make Bourbon Banana Bread all Winter long. Even though technically it is now Spring, it did snow this morning to my dismay. Boozy baked goods are still acceptable if it’s snowing right? I promise that adding bourbon to this banana bread recipe won’t make you drunk before noon, but it does add so much delicious flavor to both the bread and glaze.

Another reason it took me so long to make this recipe is every time I went to the supermarket they were out of bananas. I know it sounds strange, but it must have been the banana shortage of 2018. I even took photos and sent them to Ethan of empty spaces in the stores where bananas use to be. Like Gwen Stefani said, “This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”.

Bourbon Banana Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons bourbon (I used Few)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

bourbon glaze

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

4 tbsp. bourbon

splash of milk to thin

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper. In a large bowl of your electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs and beat until combined. Stir in vanilla, mashed bananas, bourbon, and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan lined with parchment paper. I love to use parchment paper so that the bread is easily removable from the loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Make the glaze while the bread is cooling. Stir together the sugar and bourbon, adding a touch of milk to thin to glaze consistency. Pour or spread the glaze on the cooled bread.

This is by far my favorite recipe for banana bread. Some recipes that I’ve tried in the past just don’t have enough banana in them. One or two just isn’t enough for me, I feel like adding a third is definitely the sweet spot. The other secret to making great banana bread is sour cream. Adding it produces a superior bread that is moist and delicious. Let’s talk about that bourbon glaze, which is so easy to make and delightfully boozy.

I’ll be making this Bourbon Banana Bread whenever I have too many bananas turning brown on my hands, which happens almost too often. Lately, I’ve been freezing them for smoothies too! I love the flavor the bourbon adds to this bread but you could also experiment with other spirits. Adding dark rum and coconut would be a great Summer variation. I guess maybe I have some experimenting to do. If you decide to make this Bourbon Banana Bread make sure you chime in on the comments below. I’d love to hear how it turns out. xo

Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets

February 5, 2018 by Natalie 1 Comment

Until February 14th everything will be Valentine’s Day themed because in my house we are not anti-Valentine’s Day! Any day about love, sweets, and pink is A-OK in my book. I’m celebrating this year with these Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets. Also, who doesn’t love a Negroni? Blood oranges? No. One.

I found an easy recipe for grapefruit tartlets on Pinterest from Sugar Coated Inspiration. So I adapted her recipe to make these Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets. These tarts are sweet, slightly tangy from the blood orange, bitter from the Campari, and have a natural dark pink hue from the Campari, sweet vermouth, and blood orange juice. Did I mention just a tad boozy too? You know much much I love taking my favorite classic cocktails and turning them into sweets!

Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets, makes 4 mini tarts

For the blood orange negroni curd:

1 1/2 cups blood orange juice

3/4 cup honey

3 tbsp. cornstarch

3 egg yolks, whisked

5 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. gin

1 tbsp. sweet vermouth

1 tbsp. Campari

For the crust:

2 sleeves of your preferred cookie for making the crusts (I used Milk & Honey tea cookies from Trader Joe’s)

6 tbsp. butter, melted

Start by making the crust. Pulse the cookies in a food processor or blender until they are fine crumbs. Then add the melted butter and stir the mixture until it resembles wet sand. Press and pack the mixture tightly into the bottom and sides of four mini tart pans. Bake the crusts at 350°F for 10 minutes or until they are a golden brown.

As the crusts cool, make the blood orange curd. Whisk your egg yolks in a bowl and set aside. In a saucepan whisk together the honey, cornstarch, and blood orange juice on medium heat until the mixture is thickened and slightly bubbly. Very slowly, stream in half of the hot blood orange mixture into the whisked egg yolks, whisking quickly, to temper the eggs. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly, until the curd thickens. Remove the blood orange curd from the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until melted. Add a tablespoon each of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari and stir until incorporated.

Fill the tartlet crusts up to the top with warm blood orange negroni curd and chill in the fridge until set. Once set, garnish them with edible flowers. Enjoy your special Valentine’s Day treats!

These Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets exceeded my expectations. They are so delicious and on top of that were quite simple to make. I had never made curd before and it was such a breeze I can’t wait to experiment and make other flavors. The best part about the curd was there was some left over. You can make a larger batch of crust and use the rest of the curd to make two more tartlets or you can store it in a jar. I’ve been spreading my leftover blood orange negroni curd on toast and it is the best! I really hope you decide to make these because they are currently my favorite dessert to date. As always if you decide to please let me know how they turn out in the comments below. I can’t wait to make another batch of these! xo

Champagne Cupcakes

December 30, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Yes, the Champagne posts continue! It is, after all, New Year’s and what else would I be drinking? I made these Champagne Cupcakes for tomorrow night because the only thing better than drinking Champagne would be eating it. Okay, maybe I’m wrong. Drinking Champagne is definitely better. But these will pair perfectly with a glass of bubbly!

Champagne Cupcakes, makes 1 dozen cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1/2 cup sparkling wine

Champagne Frosting

For the frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup sparkling wine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 350°. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together sour cream/yogurt and sparkling wine. Slowly add wine mixture and flour mixture into sugar and eggs.

Distribute batter evenly with a tablespoon among a lined tray and place in oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool about 15 minutes. While they’re cooling you can make the icing.

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine all frosting ingredients and beat until smooth. Fill a pastry bag and frost the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles. I used these gold ones.

This is the same recipe that I made when I did Rosé Champagne Mini Cupcakes for A Beautiful Mess. I changed the wine to regular sparkling wine instead of Rosé and didn’t add food coloring to the batter or frosting. I used a Prosecco because I didn’t want to use the really good stuff. I’m saving that for midnight! These Champagne Cupcakes still turned out pretty good. The first time I made this recipe I used sour cream. This time around I did Greek yogurt and I have to admit that the sour cream ones were better. So go with the sour cream! They still came out light and fluffy but were a little less moist.

The best part about making these is you get to drink the rest of the sparkling wine. Make sure you save a glass to wash these Champagne Cupcakes down with though! I hope you will be making these for your New Year’s Eve festivities. Let me know how they turn out in the comments below. Happy New Year everyone! xo

Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes

December 22, 2017 by Natalie 1 Comment

It wouldn’t be Christmas without some eggnog, right? I’ve whipped up these delicious Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes just in time to enjoy the perfect holiday treat. Of course, enjoying a glass will do but I love finding other ways to use it, particularly in baked goods. Last year I made these eggnog snickerdoodle cookies for my favorite Christmas Eve tradition: Adult Milk and Cookies. I’d really love to reshoot that post just because my photography and styling has improved but there wasn’t enough time this year. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head for making these Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes and I’m so happy I made them. They’re like a two for one cocktail and dessert!

Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes, makes 12 cupcakes

for the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 cup spiced rum

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

for the frosting:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

2 1/2 tbsp. eggnog

1 tbsp. dark rum

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and whisk to combine. In a bowl of an electric hand mixer, combine the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add in dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated. Divide the batter between the cupcake liners and bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth. Add in powdered sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggnog and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the rum and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add icing to a pastry bag and pipe on cupcakes. Garnish with grated cinnamon or nutmeg and a cinnamon stick if desired.

I’m really happy with how these Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes came out. I had to bring them to work because if I were to be left alone with these at home I would have eaten every single one of them. That’s how good they are! The cake was so soft and moist from the eggnog but not overly sweet. I love when cupcakes aren’t too sweet because that’s what the icing is for.

Adding spiced rum was the perfect addition to these cupcakes because it complimented all of the other baking spice flavors. You could also use bourbon is you prefer that over rum. Either way, these were delicious and are the ultimate Christmas treat. Serve them with a side of boozy eggnog and dessert is served. I hope your holiday is merry and bright everyone. Cheers and Merry Christmas! xo

Negroni Mini Cupcakes

June 8, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

As Negroni Week continues, I thought I’d bring you another tasty treat. This time in cupcake form! I deconstructed the classic Negroni and made gin and sweet vermouth cupcakes with a Campari buttercream. I really have tons of fun thinking of ways I can turn cocktails into sweets and so far I’ve been pretty successful. They aren’t too complicated to make and if you’ve already been mixing up this cocktail at home, you’re halfway there with having all the ingredients. If you are anything like me, I usually have a full pantry, so I didn’t have to run out for much to whip these up just in time for hump day!…

Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes

March 11, 2017 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Have any of you ever had an Irish Car Bomb before? Admittedly, I am so terrible at taking bomb style shots. I’m awful at chugging, and frankly, I’m way too old to be pounding beers in under 10 seconds. This particular bomb shot needs to be taken at a speedy pace or else the stout and cream start curdling, and who wants that? GROSS! With that being said, I do truly appreciate the flavor profile the creator of the Irish Car Bomb was trying to accomplish, even if the name of the drink is offensive. Stout, cream, and some Irish whiskey is a winning combination, and that’s why I’ve created these Chocolate Stout Mini Cupcakes. No chugging required, I promise! Unless you want to. :)…

Baking

Espresso Donuts, makes 1 dozen

Kerry Gold Irish Cream Glaze

Bourbon Banana Bread

bourbon glaze

Blood Orange Negroni Tartlets, makes 4 mini tarts

For the blood orange negroni curd:

For the crust:

Champagne Cupcakes, makes 1 dozen cupcakes

Champagne Frosting

Spiked Eggnog Cupcakes, makes 12 cupcakes

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